Monday, December 22, 2014

Over the summer the
Science Museum was approached by one of our camper’s parents about doing a
mural somewhere at the Museum.Lori Lee
is a well-known local muralist.She
offered to volunteer her time to help make one of our rooms more attractive and
engaging for incoming students.

The space that was chosen for the full wall mural was the
Paleontology Lab, located in a former barn down by the visitor’s parking
lot.Over the last few weeks Lori,
along with her son and students from Schreiber High School, have been hard at
work.They decided on a night time
dinosaur scene.The new mural really
makes the room come alive and makes the space extremely inviting for
guests.

An official unveiling of the new dinosaur mural will be held
soon.Until then, guests are still able
to get a look at what Lori and her team of volunteers have done.Parents booking a Discovering Dinos or Paleontology
birthday party are able to treat their guests to a visit to the paleo lab to
see the fossils we have and to brush and scrape real bones.Teachers can also bring their classes here
for either the Discovering Dinosaurs or Practical Paleontology programs which
both include a trip down to the lab as well.

It would appear that this past
month as been a busy one for dissections. Mr. Dan talked about his recent frog
dissections in his last post, and in this blog I’d like to mention another type
of dissection;Grasshoppers! These not
so little insects are definitely a unique and uncommon type of dissection, but
they’ve become one of my favorite classes to teach. Students that participate
get to take part in a truly in-depth look into the form and function of the
Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. These insects are easily the most distinct and
largest species of grasshoppers, and are famous for their bright colors during
the adult stage of their life. Unfortunately
they aren’t favored in their native habitats, as they are a bother to gardeners
who often lose many of their prized flowers to these hungry bugs.

Of course dissections aren’t the
only thing we’ve been up to at SMLI. Throughout the past month or so we’ve had
donation bins on the first floor for the Long Island Cares Community Drive.
Items such as canned food, personal care items (shampoo, soap, conditioner,
etc.), books, toys, games and more can be donated to support more than 540
communities on Long Island. While this drive ends on December 13th,
there are always plenty of opportunities to give back to your community during
the holiday season.

Speaking of the holiday season,
that always been one thing for us here at SMLI; our winter recess holiday
programs! We had a great brainstorming session a few days ago and finalized our
plans, including exciting new activities and crafts for these upcoming
workshops. You can register for any (if not all!) of these programs by calling
our registrar, Rosemarie, at (516) 627-9400 ex. 10.

Friday, December 5, 2014

The school year has been going super well and I have met so
many wonderful new students! I’ve taken our science mobile out to teach classes
at schools and been pleased to have lots of wonderful students come visit us at
the museum.I’ve enjoyed teaching
classes about volcanoes, boats, navigation, forensics, and of course all of our
scaly, slimy, and furry friends!

I was also able to sleepover at the museum recently with a
wonderful group of girl scouts.We
learned all about science outside the laboratory while exploring chemical
reactions that happen all the time in your home.We went on a nice night hike where we saw a
cute little bunny munchin’ on some grass and then warmed up by the campfire
with some yummy s’more’s!

Now, It’s time to get ready for the holidays and here at
SMLI. We have tons of fun activities to keep you active and engaged during your
holiday break.With holiday workshops
like “Detectives on the Case, Construction Junction, Winter Wonderland, Out of
this World, Edible Science, and the “Incredible Human Machine” coming up…who
needs TV (or even video games)! I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Friday, November 21, 2014

When people find out that I am a biology teacher, the one
question I have gotten more than any other is have you ever done a frog
dissection (frogOf
course I have, it is one of my favorite topics to teach.It is a unique experience that people always
seem to remember vividly.I particularly
enjoy seeing the look on kids faces when they find out they are going to
dissect frogs.For most, it is a look of
excitement, but there are always a few kids who are nervous at the idea but
most of the time, they come around.For
the school that came into the Science Museum of Long Island this week, they
couldn’t have been happier to dissect the frogs and went away with a great
experience.

dissection?).

Our afterschool programs are a great way to give your child
a similar experience.In December, there
are some exciting programs including Fur, Scales, Snouts, and Tails for
kindergarten, Wiggly Wonders for 1st and 2nd grade,
Exploring the Earth for 3rd and 4th, and Advanced
Forensics for 5th and up.These are sure to be exciting programs so don’t miss out.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Anyone who is familiar with the Science Museum knows we do
programs here for schools, after school workshops, birthday parties, holiday
programs and scout badges.A lot
of people are surprised to learn that we do programs off site as well.

Over the last few years we have really expanded where we go
with our classes.I personally enjoy getting to bring science to groups of students who
may not have gotten the chance to see and learn all the exciting lessons we do
if not for our outreach programs.

We do after school programs at the Sid Jacobson JCC,
Guggenheim JCC, Roslyn and even school districts further away like Baldwin and
Oceanside.Of course we are always
looking to bring our science classes to new places and districts.

With my class this session at the Guggenheim JCC after
school we have covered exciting topics like Kitchen Chemistry, Reptiles and
Slime, Goo and Ooze.I think one
of their favorite lessons so far was about air since each child got to take a
turn riding on our homemade Hovercraft.The children seem to really enjoy science being able to come to
them.

We know there are many districts and nursery schools that
are not able to get bussing to come here.So instead, we go off site and bring our lessons to them during the
day.In my nine years at the
Science Museum, I have seen teachers travel to schools in Queens to all the way
out to eastern Suffolk County.We
have even made treks to Manhattan, the Bronx and Eastchester just to make sure
children all around the area would be able to experience the fun, hands on
science we have to offer.

Take a look around your neighborhood.You may see our Science Museum van
driving around town or pulling up to a school near you.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Now that the building has been
de-spookified, we teachers here at SMLI have been busy prepping for one of our
busier times of the year. Our November board is packed with school field trips,
scout overnights, holiday programs and more. But, amongst all of that, we’ve also been
taking lots of time to prep for our truly busiest time of the year; summer! It
may seem crazy to be thinking about summer camp 2015 so soon, but we like to be
prepared. Multiple brainstorming sessions have helped us enhance and design
some exciting new themes for next summer! Make sure to look out for our summer
camp brochure when it’s finally completed.

Some
of you might know that I teach the nursery program here at the museum. Children
starting as young as 3 can join us once a week for some exciting scientific
exploring. Each class involves an activity related to a specific science topic,
a short snack-time, as well as creating a craft to take home! Probably the best
thing about our nursery program is our flexibility. Families that are
interested in a specific days and times can gather their friends together to
create a class that works perfectly for them. Our Winter Sessions begins in
December, so make sure to call Rosemarie, our registrar, to look into setting
up a class, or joining an already existing one.